Hi everyone,

I think after the holidays are over...I can really get back on track with blogging and working on getting my cookbook reprinted.
Anywho, I put this chili recipe together today and tossed it in the crockpot. MMMMM...GOOOD!

TURKEY AND BLACK BEAN CHILI

1 pound ground turkey-cooked
1 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 can of black soy beans-rinsed well
1 can of canned pumpkin
3 cups chicken broth
1 medium onion chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
2 1/2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients into the crock and put on low for 7-8 hours. Perfect for those long work days.

Enjoy!!!

CROCKPOT SLOPPY JOES

Well it's been some time since I have posted recipe. Sorry...but summer takes over our lives here in the Connelly household. Now fall is my favorite time of year...so I will be back with lots of yummy recipes to share with you.
So anyway, we know that we can make sloppy joes fast in a pan..but it tastes sooo much better when it has had time to simmer and all the flavors blend..hence why I LOVE my crockpot. I made this batch up while I was making breakfast. It's cold and very windy here today and my husband and I went out to a couple of late in the season garage sales after breakfast. When we came home it was a blessing to have this warm and tasty crockpot lunch waiting on us.

Crockpot Sloppy Joes

2 pounds of ground beef (I did use some lean ground beef I got on "clearance" at the store..so I didn't have to drain it)
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves-minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 8oz Rotel tomato sauce(it's a hint spicy..but you can use the "norm" and just add a dash of hot sauce)
1/2 cup of ketchup
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons Splenda (or whatever sweetener you like)

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic until softened.
Turn heat up to medium high and add the ground beef, salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder. Cook until beef is no longer pink.
Transfer the mixture to your crock pot. Stir in the Splenda, tomato sauce and ketchup.
Cover. Cook on Low for 3-4 hours
Serve over a slice of low carb bread...and we topped it with a  little shredded cheese -yum

Enjoy!!!

Mexican chops

I'm on a spicy Mexican kick lately. So much flavor with a kick and not a lot of sodium. I first made these last week and Chris kept asking for them. He said "put this in your next book". I guess he really likes them. Lol

4 boneless pork chops
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup salsa
Sour cream
Salsa
Pepper jack cheese

Mix all the spices together. Put butter in sauté pan over medium heat. Pat the chops dry. Then equally season both sides of each chop and place in pan. After each chop has some color to each side then add the 1/2 cup of salsa to the pan. Continue to cook until done. While still in pan add the cheese on top so it can melt and once they are plated up then you can add sour cream and more salsa.

Enjoy!

CHICKEN AND PEPPERJACK CHEESE SOUP

So it's suppose to be spring here in Michigan, hmmm. It's 39 degrees out but feels like 25. My poor husband has to work outside in this cold weather and I feel for him. So I came up with this soup tonight. I have to say...it's good and heats you up from the inside out.

1 can of chicken broth
1 cup cooked shredded chicken
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 garlic clove-minced
2 cups of heavy cream
8oz of shredded pepper jack cheese
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
salt and pepper

In a medium saucepan combine the broth, tomatoes, garlic and chicken.  Bring this to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 min. Remove it from the heat.
In a second sauce pan pour 1 1/2 cups of the heavy cream (leave 1/2 cup out) and simmer then add the cheese. Stir until melted and then add this mixture to the broth/tomatoes. Heat on a low simmer and add the Xanthan gum and 1/2 cup heavy cream. Let simmer for about 10 min.
Serves 4

Enjoy!!!!!

LOW CARB TOM COLLINS

So I like to experiment with "adult" drinks from time to time. One of these days I will have a cocktail party and try some of my low carb drinks. But until then...I just am taste testing tthem myself and sometimes my husband gets a drink or two. Awhile back I was determined to find TOM COLLINS drink glasses...I'm somewhat old fashioned and love to recreate and play with old recipes and drinks from the 40's-60's. LOVE IT! I swear I should have been raised back then. Anyway, so I collect old cookbooks and old cocktail books. Love them!!!! Well, I finally found the Tom Collins glasses at TJ Max. I was so excited...so then I had to make the drink..right? YES! So here we are. They are very good, refreshing and crisp. Little did I know that my husband use to order them years ago before I met him...which put a smile on my face. I've had a couple tonight...hopefully you can't tell in my writing. lol

2 oz Gin
1 oz or a really good squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1 tsp of Splenda
4 oz of club soda-or you can replace it with diet Ginger Ale


So, in a Tom Collins glass (tall and skinny) pour the Gin in. Then add the lemon juice, Splenda and ice until it reaches the top. Then add the Club Soda. Mix well with a stir.
Enjoy!

WAFFLES ANYONE????

So I have been dying to use this super cute heart shaped waffle maker I bought at Goodwill. I love but it has been trying at times to come up with a stable recipe for the maker. I remember a few years ago I had to throw away a maker (it was used from Goodwill) because the batter just stuck to well and I could NOT get it out. lol...oh well.  But now--I think I came up with one that's pretty good. I'm still going to work on it but my husband gave them the 2 thumbs up.
*Plus make extra and freeze for easy breakfast...oh yeah baby!

6 eggs, separated
6 ounces of cream cheese
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg

Preheat waffle iron.
Spray with non-stick coating
In one bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.  In a separate bowl, mix yolks(I scramble them up first) with cream cheese and protein powder, cinnamon and nutmeg until smooth. Add whites mixture to the yolk and FOLD in...no stirring and mixing.
Once the waffle iron is ready, add about 2 heaping tablespoons to each section. Mine were hearts so you might need a little more for the squares or Belgum ones. Let them cook about 4 min..my waffle maker beeps when done..now I did let them sit about a min longer so they browned more but it's not needed. Serve immediately with warm butter and warm sugar free syrup or you can freeze and toast later -maybe on a lower setting.

Enjoy!!! ♥...Happy Valentine's day!

RASPBERRY ALMOND SCONES

So I thought I would start the NEW YEAR off with some scones. I need something yummy while sitting around all day doing nothing on my day off.

2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup almond flour
1/3 cup bulk sugar substitute -I use Splenda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
 1/2 cup fresh raspberries

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper or use a silpat.
In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients, except for the raspberries, and mix well to create a batter.
Gently fold the raspberries into the batter and use a tablespoon to drop 6 evenly spaced scones on the  pan (about 2 heaping tablespoons for each one). You can shape them if you want to in kind of triangular shapes.

Bake for about 15 minutes until scones begin to lightly brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the parchment paper and serving warm.


Enjoy!